The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
11.02.2014 | Football
Texas Postgame Press Conference
Texas Head Coach Charlie Strong
Opening statement: "It's a great team victory and just to watch us bounce back after getting shut out last week and looking at us offensively, able to move the ball down the field and Tyrone (Swoopes) made some really good throws. We had some drops there early that could have really put the game away but it's great to see us bounce back. Defensively, knowing that we ended up going against (Patrick) Mahomes and end up knocking him out of the game on a really good hit by (Quandre) Diggs, and then you get (Vincent) Testaverde in, but just to watch us compete. I said, told them before the game, "what team is it that shows up today? Is it going to be a team that plays with a lot of passion, a lot of confidence? A team that has a lot of pride and just understands what we gotta go get done?" We talk about there's four games left, one down, three more to go, have West Virginia at home next week, and it's great to get this win and now we get on back home and get ready to play West Virginia."
On hit by Quandre Diggs that caused fumble: "Quandre with that hit, I think that got us going because you know, to see him make that hit, it was really a good, clean hit. You don't ever want to see anything like that happen. I don't like to see an injury to any player, whether it's mine or someone else's, but it was just a good, clean hit, and he did kind of get everyone going."
On the offensive improvement after early struggles: "It's all about executing. We weren't executing in the first quarter. You watch us, then we get the drive. We always hurt ourselves. It's nothing anyone else does. It's what we do to ourselves. There is a drop, we don't convert on third down, or Tyrone just don't make the right check. But just to watch our offense bounce and to continue – we wanted this to be a physical game, and Malcolm Brown ran well, as well as Johnathan Gray."
On running out of the "I" formation: "Well, you look at the formation and everything that they gave to us on our offense; we wanted to be physical today. We knew that we needed to add another blocker in the game by adding a full back. We put Becker in the backfield, two tight ends, one tight end, but we wanted to give them a lot of different looks."
On fumble by Tyrone Swoopes and his deep touch pass: "No, he scrambles out of there and he was looking right. If he had looked left right away he would have let it go because he had Harris, he beat his guy on a double move and he was open, and then he looked at him too late, and he was trying to get rid of the ball, and it happens the ball slips out of his hand. Then he made a great throw down there and the one that 9 made, Harris just goes up and takes the ball from his defender, and then Marcus has to come down and make that play. He had Daje (Johnson) open, too, on the sideline but he's gotta keep the ball open on the orange line. And just to watch him, you could see the confidence building within him, I said just keep playing good things are going to happen for you."
On the strategy on dealing with Testaverde: "There was so much we had to do, with what they were doing to us, we knew it would turn into a run game and a screen game, and that's what they did to us, and we just didn't do a good job. We gotta fit better, and we didn't fit better you know where they kept running a split zone job, the ball creased us a few times, then they threw the ball to the outside, and we didn't get enough guys to the ball."
On focusing only on positives or examining dropped balls, fumbles, etc.: "No, we need to make some of those interceptions. We had our hands on the ball and we didn't get the interception. You look at the one -- I told Dylan Haynes you are going to get hit anyway, might as well catch the ball, just come down with it, the one he didn't come down with. Then Mykkele (Thompson) makes a big one on the sideline, Duke (Thomas) had one that he dropped. Turnovers, we need to get the turnovers just to change the field position for our offense."
On if the main takeaway is just getting a win: "It's a win. I don't know so much we can say regardless of your opponent, but you just like how we completed."
On the play of Bryson Echols: "We came with Echols, we were in our nickel package so we needed another defensive back in the game so we played Echols, and he played very well for us."
On finishing the season strong: "Well, you know, it's week by week, and that's why I said before the game, what team are we going to get today? It's all about finishing. We had to finish. I said, hey, it's 30 minutes of football left. We need to take the ball on the offense and go drive it, and I think we ended up getting a field goal out of it, but we would love to get seven there. It's about us and continuing to play hard and competing."
On knowing what type of team will show up for Texas: "That's why I say, what team am I going to get today? You look at last week, what did I get? I got a shutout, but you don't like that at all (Laughter.) No, it's about -- what I say to the guys it's about our preparation and focus it's about our emotion. We are on the road, this was an unbelievable crowd here tonight and just to come to this environment. It was going to be a hostile environment, and they saw that in pregame warm-up. The tone was set for this game, but defensively I said we're going to have to play great defense to take this crowd out of the game. We're going to have to play great defense, and we stepped up and was playing well. Offensively, it's going to take us a while to get going, which it did, it's going to take two or three drives to get us going but we need to make sure defensively we keep them out of the end zone and we play well."
On having Daje Johnson back, and any new injuries: "Don't know if I have anyone seriously injured, may have a bruise here or there, but having Daje back, he's got outstanding speed. You put the ball in his hands, he's one guy that can make people miss and can get outside. You see the one reverse that we gave to him, and we threw the long pass down the boundary, and Tyrone just led him to the outside. If he kept that ball in, he would probably have been off and running."
On the play of Johnathan Gray and Malcolm Brown: "The thing about it, our offensive line played well. They can get on people, get in the way, and let those backs take the ball and just run behind their pack. It may not always be clean. I think on the fourth down play, again, we go for it on fourth, there is a guy open, a guy unblocked in the hole, and J. Gray this time lowers his pads and runs over the guy and gets the three or four we needed."
On John Harris catching ability: "That ball goes up and he finds a way to come down with it. He's so strong and physical and he plays like that but it's great to see him having a year he's having."
On defensive struggles on third down: "We can't give up those plays, and you're right on third and long, we need to get off the field. One time they run a draw play, the next time they run a screen. We gotta get to the football. We're not getting to the ball, and one guy may get blocked, but we are not pursuing the way we need to. Thank you."
On the defensive mindset going up against freshmen quarterbacks tonight: "Just go out and have fun. Could have got the starter. We gotta go out there and play football. I don't worry too much about who lines up. I want to make a play and compete. It's fun, talk some trash and have fun."
On Coach Strong's postgame speech: "That's for the locker room."
On his hit on Mahomes knocking him out of the game: "He signed up to play football. Sometimes that happens."
Senior Cornerback Quandre Diggs
On his hit on Mahomes: "It was just a good hit. Came in, saw he was running, did what I was supposed to do to get my team fired up. That's plays I need to make each and every week to get the guys going and do what I do."
On if that was a turning point for the team: "I think it was huge. Anytime you can get the ball back for the offense and great field position, you know, is a great feeling, and just getting another take-away in the game, we win. Getting that opportunity to make a play was fun to get it done, and I'm sure John and them appreciated it."
On if this was the first complete game played by the team: "I wouldn't say complete. I think we can all get better in each phase of the game, but we played a well-rounded game, and we got to get back to work this week. We are going to enjoy this one right now, but once tomorrow hits, we gotta get back to work."
On dropped interceptions by the defense: "I laugh at them because I tell them they don't have any hands. I feel like I got the best hands on the team, including, John, so I give those guys a tough time all the time and Duke, he's racking up PBUs, and when you wrack up PBUs, that means your hands are terrible. I just give those guys a hard time, and I expect them to go out and make those plays, and I know if they get the opportunity next week, they will go out and make them."
On having fun while playing: "We just always say we need a place to stand, need a place to standing and out and play defense and go out and have fun. That's the thing I love about this team, as a coaching staff and on the side lines, we're cracking up and having fun. When you can be lose like that you go out and play the game and just have fun. So definitely the coaches rub off on us and we want to go out and have fun and get a great stop."
On relieving any pressure tonight: "I would hope so but you have to have the same mind-set going into next week and go out and make plays."
On the key to building on this win: "We can't rest it on it. It's one win, we going to have fun tonight and enjoy it, and tomorrow get back to watching film and learn from our mistakes we made tonight."
Senior Wide Receiver John Harris
On the momentum shift from Diggs' hit: "That's something we expect. Those guys play physical like that in practice every day, so it's nothing new when we see it on the field, and that's just the type of intensity our defense plays with. It's fun to watch Quandre get big hits like that and get the ball back to our offense."
On the difference in the offense from last week: "Just the rhythm. We had a rhythm going there in the game. Our defense, they kept fighting even when we didn't get anything clicking. When we finally got something going, the ground game was working and the pass game was working, so we were in a rhythm today and everything felt comfortable."
On his 68-yard reception: "The way we run it in practice, that ball goes to Shipley, so I was kind of in shock when he threw it. But he was expecting me to go make a play and those guys on defense were expecting me to make a play, so that's what I gotta go do."
On the catch helping with momentum: "Yeah, once you make a big catch you got to get relaxed and keep playing. Anytime I get a big catch even if I start off with a small catch, I'm going to keep playing and keep waiting for that moment."
On the running backs' performances: "They ran behind their passing tonight, they were physical running. We helped them out, the wide receivers helped them blocking and digging out the safeties, but Malcolm and J. Gray ran hard tonight."
On Swoopes responding after his fumble: "We told him to calm down and play the game that you know to play. He's been in tough situations this year so that was nothing new to him so all he had to do is relax and get in a rhythm and make some plays for them and we did that and he was fine the rest of the game."
On the key to offensive balance: "Just the run game, when you your run game -- when you're moving the ball on the ground like that, they can't load the box. They're going to have to respect the pass down the field and they're going to man you up one-on-one. When your run games running the ball, you have a rush over 100 yards, that means guys are in the box. That's putting receivers out there one-on-one and giving you the opportunities to make plays."
